The film will release on a Wednesday, just like Ek Tha Tiger, and cash in on the weekend as well

The makers of Shootout at Wadala, Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures and Sanjay Gupta’s White Feather Films, are taking a cue from Ek Tha Tiger and the trend of films releasing on a holiday weekday. This way, an audience is ensured on a weekday, and three more days of the coming weekend add to the collections.

Shootout at Wadala releases on May 1, 2013. Every year, May 1 is a holiday, marked as International Workers’ Day, Labour Day and Maharashtra Day in India. But there’s more to the logic of releasing Shootout on this day, and that is its plotline. The theme of the film – a true story – is based on the life a Maharashtrian labourer who gets involved in the first ever police encounter in the country. And so it made sense for them to schedule the outing on May 1.

Sanjay Gupta, who is also directing the film, said, “May 1 is Maharashtra Day / Labour Day. Manya Surve, our lead protagonist, is a Maharashtrian from a work-oriented middle-class family whose life takes a precarious turn.”

Ekta Kapoor in a statement, “When I recently watched the rushes of Shootout at Wadala, I was blown away. It’s such an engaging and powerful film. With its content and massive star cast, topped by the kind of marketing push that the Balaji team will give, we need a long weekend for SAW. The film is a supreme mass entertainer and we will hype it to the hilt!”

A Mumbai sessions court Monday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of filmmaker Sanjay Gupta who was booked for sending out invites for his movie’s event on a letterhead resembling that of the city police chief, police said. “Gupta’s anticipatory bail plea has been rejected by the sessions court today (Monday). We had opposed the plea as his explanation for the same was not satisfactory,” said Senior Police Inspector Nandkumar Mehtar of northwest Mumbai’s Versova Police Station where a first information report (FIR) against Gupta was registered. Police questioned Gupta for nearly two hours Sunday. “Gupta did not cooperate with us during the investigation. He kept misleading us,” Mehtar said.

Gupta last month sent out invites for the promotion of his upcoming film Shootout at Wadala on a letterhead that resembled that of Mumbai’s police commissioner. An FIR was registered against Gupta February 29 and he was booked under several non-bailable sections. Police had issued summons to Gupta, asking him to present himself to explain his case or face arrest Friday. Gupta approached the court Saturday for anticipatory bail.

The film, produced by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms and Gupta’s White Feather Films, is based on a real life incident that took place in the 1990s and narrates the story of a shootout that took place in Wadala in central Mumbai. The multi-starrer will have Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Tusshar Kapoor and Kangna Ranaut playing pivotal roles.

A case of cheating and forgery has been registered against filmmaker Sanjay Gupta for sending out invites on a letterhead resembling that of the Mumbai police commissioner. “We have registered an FIR (first information report) against Gupta for sending out invites for the promotion of his film Shootout at Wadala on a letterhead resembling that of the Mumbai police commissioner,” said Nandkumar Mhetar, a senior police inspector at Versova police station. “We have sent the summons to his office and asked him to come to the police station and answer our questions. We are awaiting his response,” he added.

Gupta, who has made films like Kaante, Shootout at Lokhandwala and Zinda has been booked for cheating and forgery. He was unavailable for comments despite repeated attempts.

Shootout at Wadala, produced by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms and Gupta’s White Feather Films, is based on a real-life incident that took place in the 1990s and narrates the story of a shootout that took place in Wadala in central Mumbai. The multi-starrer features Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Tusshar Kapoor and Kangna Ranaut in pivotal roles.